Nutrient Management by Mass Balance

Nutrient management in modern agriculture is critical to both crop productivity and environmental stewardship, especially as the sector faces rising fertilizer costs, stricter regulatory frameworks, and growing concerns about resource efficiency. The challenge is exacerbated by nutrient leaching in free-draining systems, where essential minerals escape the root zone and enter water bodies, posing environmental hazards and financial losses. Research has increasingly recognized that plant nutrient demands are not static, but rather fluctuate throughout the life cycle, with water use acting as a primary driver of nutrient acquisition. Despite technological and modeling advances, existing fertilization strategies often fail to capture the nuances of these phenological shifts, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for optimization. Recent studies highlight the value of mass-balance approaches that synchronize fertilizer application with actual nutrient uptake, drawing upon organ-specific elemental profiles and transpiration-based metrics. However, significant gaps remain in linking these dynamic plant processes with precision nutrient management that adapts to developmental and environmental variables.This Research Topic aims to establish a robust framework for elucidating how plant nutrient requirements evolve in concert with developmental stages, water use, and environmental conditions. The objective is to dissect the shifting patterns of organ-level nutrient allocation, particularly following transitions like the onset of reproductive growth, and to quantify associated changes in whole-plant nutrient demand. Additionally, the initiative seeks to refine practical fertilization protocols by integrating real-time measurements of water use efficiency with tissue-level nutrient analyses, enabling the formulation of dynamic, cultivar-specific replenishment strategies. Key questions include how leachate nutrient content correlates with plant demand predictions, and whether discrepancies stem from oversupply, temporary nutrient storage, or true physiological change.Within the boundaries of phenology-informed nutrient management and mass-balance-based fertilization, this Research Topic welcomes articles that bridge experimental physiology, dynamic modeling, and practical application across crops and systems. Both fundamental and translational research that addresses the drivers, modeling, and management of nutrient use efficiency are encouraged. To gather further insights in these domains, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Mechanistic studies on nutrient uptake and partitioning throughout key phenological stages• The role of transpiration and water use efficiency in modulating nutrient requirements• Development and validation of mass-balance models for dynamic fertilization• Experimental and modeling approaches to integrate tissue nutrient status and water metrics• Cultivar-specific and environment-specific fertilization strategies• Methods for monitoring and interpreting leachate nutrient profiles• Strategies to distinguish between true phenological changes and artifacts of fertilizationWe welcome original research articles, reviews, methods papers, and perspectives that align with the aims and scope of this Research Topic.Topic Editor Dr. Bruce Bugbee, is the president and founder of Apogee Instruments. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject. Topic editors: William Bauerle, Bruce Bugbee Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77639/nutrient-management-by-mass-balance